TV Politicians Who Are Corrupt From '24,' 'Boardwalk Empire,' 'Boss,' 'Homeland' And More

08/30/2012 09:44 am ET

HuffPost TV Staff
The Huffington Post

Politicians can get bad raps ... but in the case of these TV politicians, sometimes they deserve it.

With the lead-up to the 2012 election in full swing, we couldn't help trying to find the good in our own political system by highlighting the most evil, inept and corrupt politicians in TV history. From "24's" villainous Charles Logan to POW-turned-congressman-with-a-cause Nicholas Brody on "Homeland," the slideshow below is full of very bad guys in very high places.

But they're not all as overtly evil as "Once Upon a Time's" poison apple-shilling evil queen herself, Mayor Regina Mills -- some TV politicians rose to power on pure luck (ahem, Quahog's Mayor Adam West!) and have managed to muck it up with their incompetence ever since.

Click through the gallery to see the 16 politicians who got our vote for most corrupt, whether they were campaigning for it or not.

TV's Most Corrupt Politicians

TV's Most Corrupt Politicians

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Nucky Thompson, "Boardwalk Empire"

Played by: Steve Buscemi
Based on the real-life Prohibition era Atlantic City treasurer Nucky Johnson, Thompson dominates the Atlantic region's vast bootlegging trade by blurring the line between the political and criminal underworlds, using murder, bribery, mafia connections and political horsetrading to get rich and stay powerful.